The sport of "tubing" has gained increasing popularity in recent years. An automotive inner tube is used as a floating seat to support a person in water. Normally, the person will place legs, arms and upper back over the top of the tube, and permit the lower back and bottom to protrude through the tube into the water. When the body of water is a river, particularly one with small rapids, an exhilarating and enjoyable experience can be had.
Inner tubes are the chosen device for tubing for a number of reasons including their availability and their minimal cost. Floating on a body of water without using an inner tube cannot properly be called "tubing". As a consequence, the equipment used for tubing has remained fairly constant over the years, rarely comprising anything beyond an inner tube.
In the past, various U.S. patents have issued on devices for attachment to inner tubes or for facilitating the ability to carry out the activity of "tubing". U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,996, issued on Jul. 25, 1978, to Mikulecky describe a foot-propelled water vehicle including a hard-shelled body having a generally annular periphery. The body has a seat cavity integrally formed with the body such that an individual may recline within the seat so that the individual's legs extend over a side. By kicking, the individual may propel the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,299, issued on Jul. 10, 1979 to T. Hilbern, describes an inner tube seat for attachment to an inflated inner tube for the purpose of supporting a user above a water surface while enabling him to use his feet and legs for propulsion. The seat is comprised of a semi-rigid elongated seat member formed with integral arcuate ends that conform to the configuration of an inflated inner tube section. The seat member extends across the full diameter of the tube but does not span the entire central opening of the tube, thereby leaving a crescent-shaped opening for access by the user's legs. The seat member also includes forward and rearward side edges.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,667, issued on Jul. 22, 1986 to D. H. Hull, describes a gas-inflatable floatable portable seat that is especially adapted for supporting a child, or other person, in a seating position. The seat is adapted to be attached to a boat or other vehicle or to be independently floatable on the water. The seat comprises a first generally annular-shaped lower inflatable float chamber fabricated from flexible sheet material defining a lower leg compartment for a person and adapted to provide needed buoyancy when placed in the water. A second, generally annular-shaped, upper inflatable float chamber is secured on top of the first chamber and is formed with an open segment on a back side thereof to provide armrests on opposite sides of the open segment. An inflatable seat structure comprises an upstanding back projecting upwardly of the second float chamber and a generally upstanding outer back face and a seat cushion projecting inwardly of the back into the leg compartment through the open segment of the second float chamber. U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,452, issued to the same inventor, describes a similar configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,891, issued on Jul. 6, 1993 to W. C. Stephens, teaches an insert for an inflatable buoyant toroid having a bottom portion with one or more contoured, concave surfaces radially disposed about a circular base and one or more seating portions above the bottom portion. The center of gravity of the insert is on a vertical axis passing substantially through the center of the circular base whether the insert contains a passenger or not. A floatation device comprising the insert and an inflatable buoyant toroid has positive stability in the water. The center of gravity of the insert is adjusted by a ballasting apparatus.
The major problem associated with these prior art devices is a relatively high center of gravity relative to the inner tube. In many cases, the attachment of an apparatus to the exterior surface of an inner tube will create high center of gravities which can result in unstable operation. It is undesirable to have the inner tube capsize within the water. Greater stability and floatability of the inner tube is achieved by having a lower center of gravity. Whenever the center of gravity is in a vertical orientation, instability will inherently result. As such, there is a need to design the seat for use with an inner tube having a relatively horizontal center of gravity for improved stability. Additionally, these prior art devices are often difficult to install onto the surface of an inner tube. The round configuration of such devices causes a "spinning" action, in conjunction with the inner tube, rather than a hydrodynamic configuration. Additionally, these devices are often configured to receive only a certain type of inner tube rather than a wide variety of sizes of inner tubes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat for an inner tube which maintains a low center of gravity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a seat for an inner tube which is easy to install on inner tubes of multiple sizes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seat for an inner tube which has improved hydrodynamic characteristics.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a seat for use on an inner tube which allows for the attachment of exterior items, such as cans.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a seat for an inner tube which is relatively easy to use, inexpensive, and easy to manufacture.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.